Climate Solutions Caucus: Stop The #GOPTaxScam

The GOP leadership's tax bill is a giveaway to the Koch brothers and ExxonMobil and a disaster for the rest of us. It recklessly opens up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling, gives special tax breaks specifically to the oil and gas industries, kills key support for renewable energy and electric vehicles, and even raises taxes on the survivors of climate disasters.

As the House considers the Senate bill, the 31 GOP members of the "Climate Solutions Caucus," with a stated commitment to "reducing climate risk," are key swing votes and could stop this bill. Seven members of the caucus voted against the House version - if 12 more join them, the #GOPTaxScam will be stopped. This tax bill doesn’t “reduce climate risk,” it increases it dramatically. It raises $4.5 trillion in taxes, especially on the working and middle class, in order to give $6 trillion in tax cuts, overwhelmingly to billionaires and multi-national corporations.

Just a few days ago, nine members of the Caucus sent a letter with three other Republicans to Senate leadership asking them to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Five of the Caucus signatories voted for the House version #GOPTaxScam—Reps. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL-26), Dave Reichert (R-WA-08), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-08), Ryan Costello (R-PA-06), and Patrick Meehan (R-PA-07).

Now they are thinking about voting for the Senate tax bill, which includes massive new tax breaks for oil and gas executives, opens up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, and threatens renewable energy investment.

Instead of spending $6 trillion of taxpayer money to funding tax corporate tax breaks, Congress should be putting Americans to work stopping climate change and building the economy of the future.

Now is the time for the Climate Solutions Caucus to take action to protect our climate and our country—before it's too late.